love to paint

One of the books that I recommend to friends who are thinking of homeschooling is Help for the Harried Homeschooler by Christine Field.  It covers the bases of the big picture well of what it looks like to homeschool and what many of the challenges are.  It doesn't go in depth into curriculum recommendations because many other books do.  She does include a short chapter on choosing curriculum that is full of very good advice. Christine has written several other books for homeschooling. I do have one of her other books, Life Skills for Kids , which is also great.  It covers manners, chores, and all the other skills (besides academics) that we want to teach our kids when we homeschool.   This week I read one of her books that I've been curious about for a while, even though it doesn't apply to my family right now.  Sometimes I wonder if God is preparing me for what may be ahead by prompting me to read a book like the one I read this week.   Chr...

I find that I often straddle a line.  Before I homeschooled, I was a public school teacher.  I earned my master's degree in education.  I learned a lot in my classes.  There is an old saying that teachers teach because they can't do anything else, but that simply isn't true!  It take so much skill to be a good teacher.   When I worked in the public schools, I grew to respect and admire the knowledge and experience of the special education teachers and the teachers that worked with students with learning disabilities.  They had training beyond what I had.   I saw their demeanors and patience with their students.  Because of my experience I have doubted whether a homeschool parent could teach their child at home as well as teachers with specialized education could.   Two weeks ago, I read a book that changed my mind.    The book was written by Melinda Boring.  It is titled Heads Up Helping .  It was published abou...